GDHQNHL15_2pg-New York Rangers 1

NJ Devils Gameday HQ

Offense
When people remember the Rangers’ magical 2013-14 season, they
do so in terms of the dramatic playoff run, which ended in a thrilling Cup
finals series with the Kings, three games of which went into overtime.
They won’t recall a season that was filled with offensive fireworks,
because that is not how the Rangers get it done. Although New York
wasn’t impotent by any stretch of the imagination, it relied heavily on a
strong defense, backed by perennial stingy backstop Henrik Lundqvist,
to get the job done.
In the wake of the deep postseason run, the Rangers had to make
some tough personnel decisions and ended up losing some key offensive
contributors to free agency. Chief among them were center Brad
Richards (20 goals, 51 points) and wing Benoit Pouliot (15, 36).
And it’s not as if the Rangers replaced them with first-rate snipers.
Dan Boyle may be a mobile defenseman, but he is 38 and scored just 12
goals last year. Meanwhile, Matthew Lombardi did register 50 points
in 46 games last year—in the Austrian League. If the team seems a little
weaker on O, it isn’t an illusion. This could be a concern. Lundqvist can
only do so much.
The good news is that power forward Rick Nash is back after leading
the team with 26 goals last year. Of course, that was his lowest total in a
full NHL season since his rookie year, but the big winger can still get it
done. Mats Zuccarello isn’t going to overpower anyone, not at 5-7, but he
is quick and scored 19 goals last year. He also tied for the team lead with
40 assists, so he is a solid playmaker.
Look for center Derek Stepan to produce again, and young left wing
Chris Kreider has a bright future after notching 17 goals and posting
a team-best plus-14 rating last year. Defenseman Ryan McDonagh is
a goal-scoring threat from the blue line, and Carl Hagelin can find the
net on the wing.
Defense
Playing in front of Lindqvist can make any defense look good, but
the Rangers have a steady crew, especially on its first two tandems, so it
isn’t all the goaltender. New York has been in the top five in fewest goals
allowed in each of the past four seasons, and that type of play makes it a
little easier to have a solid, but hardly spectacular, defense.
Even though the Rangers changed coaches last year, they were still
fourth in goals against last year, and that solid defense helped carry them
through to the Cup finals. The first pairing of Dan Girardi and McDonagh
EASTERN CONFERENCE
METROPOLITAN DIVISION
Henrik Lundqvist
New York
RANGERS
Key Additions:
LW Tanner Glass; RW Lee
Stempniak; C Matthew
Lombardi; D Dan Boyle; D Petr
Zamorsky
Key Subtractions:
C Brad Richards; LW Benoit
Pouliot; C Dominic Moore; C
Brian Boyle
Strengths:
Goaltending, penalty kill
Weaknesses:
Scoring, power play
Andy Marlin/NHL/Getty Images